


Meteor Falls

by skippingmud



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Gen, Houen-chihou | Hoenn Region (Pokemon), One Shot, Pokemon, Post-Delta Episode (Pokemon), Short One Shot, Song: Supercut (Lorde)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23590141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skippingmud/pseuds/skippingmud
Summary: Steven and Wallace talk about recent happenings.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Meteor Falls

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written as a gift for the 2020 Canalave Library New Year’s Extravaganza. The recipient wanted a story that was inspired by the song “Supercut” by Lorde.

“Ah, I knew I’d find you here.”

As soon as he heard his voice, Steven knew that he should look for a different hiding spot. Granted, Wallace was the only other person who knew that he went here—at least, as far as he knew—but it still defeated the purpose of having a place to himself where he could think without any distractions.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you were able to make it here on your own,” Steven said as Wallace took his seat next to him. “Knowing you and your incredible directional skills.”

“I have Milotic to thank for that,” Wallace said with a laugh. “I had doubts about having to go through so many lakes and waterfalls within a cave, but if he followed my instincts, we’d get here by tomorrow at the earliest.”

Steven laughed at the remark, the first time he genuinely laughed in a while. Of course, there were only a few people who could make him laugh in the first place, and recent events have made it much harder even for them.

But Wallace was the exception. He always was.

“In any case, I know you’re here to think about all that happened,” Wallace said as he leaned on Steven’s shoulder. Steven almost resisted the gesture in response, but decided against it and let Wallace continue. “But you don’t have to do it alone.”

While he was more than content with doing it alone, the past few hours of solitude has only made Steven even more frustrated and annoyed at the situation. So he was going to have to side with Wallace in this one.

“So, tell me,” Wallace began. “How are you feeling?”

“Awful,” Steven replied with no hesitation. “Terrible, even. It shouldn’t have come to that point! I felt so useless, so powerless! What kind of trainer am I if I can’t handle these serious situations without a child’s help? It’s like I never became Champion at all!”

“Okay, Steve, calm down.” Wallace said as he sat upright. “Let’s deal with this logically.”

“‘Logically’ didn’t cut it,” Steven said dejectedly. “‘Logically’ would’ve gotten you—gotten us all wiped out by that meteoroid.”

That last statement hung in the air for a while, and all Steven could hear were the droplets of water from the ceiling falling on the nearby lake, and the soft cries of Solrock and Lunatone that echoed through the chamber. Spending some time looking for rare stones in Meteor Falls always calmed him down, but he had been anything but calm in the past hour.

“Well, fortunately we’re still here,” Wallace said after a few moments. “And no one got hurt. Not you, not me, and not anyone from any other dimension out there.”

“All thanks to May,” Steven said, embarrassed at the statement. “Yet again, I had to stand at the sidelines while a teenage girl took care of everything. Sure, she’s already Champion now, but a 13-year-old shouldn’t bear that kind of responsibility! That’s what I’m—we’re, that’s what we’re here for!”

That last statement was accompanied with the faint roars of Bagon in the deeper parts of the cave. Steven noticed Wallace leaning into him again, which he had to admit felt much nicer than sitting on the floor all alone.

“We both know May isn’t your regular teenager,” Wallace pointed out. “At the rate she’s going with all these Legendary Pokemon, she’ll probably be the person who figures out where the legendary golems are sleeping.”

“She shouldn’t have to!” complained Steven, his louder than normal voice echoing around the cavern. He heard a Golbat screech almost in reply to his frustration, which only made him even more uneasy.

“Steve, you did everything you could to help in averting the crisis,” Wallace said, putting his hand on Steven’s shoulder. “You’re the one who helped May figure out that whole situation with the Draconid woman, and you’re the one who made sure that word of the crisis didn’t spread out to cause mass panic. That may not be on the level of stopping a meteoroid from impacting the world, but that’s still something that should be commended.”

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Wallace was right—as always. He always had a unique perspective in things, which Steven found equal parts annoying and amazing.

“I just keep replaying all the events in my head, finding what I could’ve done better and what I should’ve done instead,” Steven said, staring intensely at a shiny piece of rock near his shoes. “I should’ve been strong enough to handle this on my own. I should’ve had the foresight to deal with Zinnia’s ramblings. I should’ve—”

“It’s okay, Steve,” Wallace interrupted with a smile. “I’m the last person you’d need to explain all that to.”

The realization hit Steven like a Meteor Mash from his Metagross. Just a few months ago, he had been at this very spot, feeling just as hopeless and awful, but his head filled with thoughts both similar and completely different at the same time.

_I should’ve spent more time with him. I should’ve taken Wallace to Alola like he always mentioned. I should’ve gone to those dinners with Wallace instead of dealing with League stuff I had the power to postpone. I should’ve told Wallace I loved him more often—_

“I’m sorry, Wallace,” Steven blurted out, not knowing what else to say.

“It’s okay, Steve,” Wallace replied. “I think you’ve already apologized enough.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Steven said. “I can get over feeling helpless and leaving everything up to May twice, even if it will take me a long time to do so. But how badly I treated you? I will never get over that.”

“Hey, Steve,” Wallace said. “We’ve talked about this, okay? It was fun, but it wasn’t what either of us needed. And the last thing I want is for our friendship to shatter into pieces like that meteorite, alright?”

“Meteoroid,” Steven said almost automatically. “It was a meteoroid because it didn’t—oh, I’m sorry.”

It was Wallace’s turn to laugh. “Hah, same old Steve. Melodramatic mere seconds ago, but always quick to get my rock facts correct.”

Steven rubbed his eyes and smiled. “Thanks for talking to me, Wallace. You always know what to say.”

“Of course I do!” Wallace said with the flair that Steven always admired. “And I also know that what you’d like right now is to hike down with me so I won’t get lost on the way out.”

“Heh, I do,” Steven said. “But I think I’d also like to stay here for a few more minutes. Alone, if that’s okay.”

“Alright, then. Take it easy, Steve,” Wallace said as he kissed Steven on the forehead and stood up. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Knowing you, that’s next to impossible, but at least try to not beat yourself up about this too much, alright?”

As Wallace exited out of the cavern, Steven crossed his legs and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths in and out.

 _Maybe I don’t need to find a different hiding spot after all_ , he thought.


End file.
